An Irreverent Look At the DC Bar Scene
by Senate staffers Emily, Liz and Robyn
THIS WEEK: HOUSE OF SECRETS
(4th and U Streets, DC)
We have been to clubs, we have been to lounges, we have been to dive bars, and we have been to strip clubs. Frankly, we thought we had seen every level of sketch in DC...until we arrived at the House of Secrets.
The House of Secrets is in a residential neighborhood in an area of the city that none of us would recommend visiting alone. This was the last kind of place that Liz and Emily thought of going last Saturday night, but we were persuaded by the enthusiasm of Emily's roommate Jason. We walked into the house and paid the steep entrance fee of $25 (once you pay this, all of the alcohol is free). The House is lighted by dim red bulbs and is decorated in a style that immediately made us feel like we had landed in the middle of a frat party gone terribly wrong. All of the different rooms in the house have different themes (use your imagination and we are sure you can think of what some of these themes are....). The first floor consists of a few different rooms with bars in each of them, and, while there was a dance floor, no one seemed to be using it.
Note: When applicable, all of our ratings below are on a 0-5 scale (0 being the worst, 5 being the best).
Age Factor :
2 - Aside from the man wandering around shaking people's hands who owned the house (Emily's roommate hit it off with this guy), most the people were young.
Hill Networking Opportunities:
0 - Ha. Do we even have to comment on this?
Hook-Up Factor:
1 - Nope, not much here. Although there were quite a few doors in the house that were locked, so perhaps it was simply not as apparent.
Crowd Diversity:
5 - Just about any type of person you can think of was here on Saturday. From the preppies to people highly enjoying a chess game upstairs to men and women who seemed deeply committed to the reggae room.
Sketch Factor:
On a scale of 0-5, we give this place a 10.
The Bottom Line:
If you venture into this neighborhood, be prepared. Ladies, take a guy with you. Seriously. Liz and Emily pretty much clung to Jason all night (not that he seemed to mind) but it was more to make ourselves feel more comfortable than for his enjoyment. Jason insists that the other times he has visited this particular establishment it has been much less seedy and more fun, however Liz and I were not feeling that vibe, so we are sticking to our own sketchy experience. The House of Secrets is only open on Saturday nights.
